Project background, objectives and expected results

Irrigation is the predominant water consumer globally, accounting for 70% of the total consumption and therefore constitutes a significant environmental challenge. In addition, the combined application of the WFD (Water Framework Directive) along with the CSS (Cross Compliance Scheme) of the EU CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) introduce the principle "the user pays" in irrigation water management. The most significant expected impacts are a substantial increase of the net irrigation water price leading to an increasing effect of agricultural costs, affecting the choice of cultivation, irrigation method and system.

In this light, ENORASIS offers an irrigation managementDecision Support System (ENORASIS Service Platform and Components) for environmentally optimised and thus sustainable irrigation management for farmers and water management organizations.

The main stakeholders of the ENORASIS solution are farmers and water management companies. For farmers, ENORASIS aims to provide optimal, personalized irrigation scheduling (when and how much to irrigate), real-time and high spatial accuracy weather predictin and interactive consultation on sustainable agriculture practices. For water management organizations, ENORASIS will provide information on actual and predicted water use for irrigation, thus: a) facilitating the application different pricing policies and b) supporting billing procedures

For farmers, the basic ENORASIS impacts expected are:

Reduction of operating expenses for irrigation management

Sustainment/ Improvement of property value

Elimination of water runoff pollution

For water management companies, the basic ENORASIS impacts expected are: